Keeneland sales and Keeneland racing have produced a number of finalists for 2023 Eclipse Awards named by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.
Equine champions and outstanding horsemen of 2023 will be announced Thursday, Jan. 25 at the 53rd annual Eclipse Awards Ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida. Finalists for Horse of the Year will be named early in the event.
Keeneland joins FanDuel, John Deere and The Jockey Club as presenting sponsors of the ceremony.
Ten graduates of Keeneland sales – all are alumni of the prestigious September Yearling Sale – are finalists for Eclipse Awards in flat racing categories. The horses and their 2023 graded stakes victories are:
Two-Year-Old Male: Locked, winner of the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland; Muth, winner of the American Pharoah (G1).
Two-Year-Old Filly: Hard to Justify, undefeated winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) and the Miss Grillo (G2).
Three-Year-Old Male: Arcangelo, winner of the Belmont (G1) Presented by NYRA Bets, the Travers (G1) and the Peter Pan (G3); Mage, winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) Presented by Woodford Reserve.
Three-Year-Old Filly: Randomized, winner of the Alabama (G1) Presented by Keeneland Sales and the Beldame (G2).
Older Dirt Male/Male Sprinter: Elite Power, winner of the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), the Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1), the True North (G2) and the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) Presented by Sports Boulevard.
Female Sprinter: Echo Zulu, winner of the Ballerina (G1), the Honorable Miss (G2) and the Winning Colors (G3); Maple Leaf Mel, winner of the Victory Ride (G3) and the Miss Preakness (G3) Presented by Case Tractor.
Male Turf Horse: Up to the Mark, winner of the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland, the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (G1) and the Resorts World Casino Manhattan (G1).
Additional finalists who won Keeneland stakes in 2023 are:
Candied (Two-Year-Old Filly), winner of the Darley Alcibiades (G1).
Goodnight Olive (Older Dirt Female/Female Sprinter), winner of the Madison (G1).
Idiomatic (Older Dirt Female), winner of the Juddmonte Spinster (G1).
In Italian (GB) (Female Turf Horse), winner of the Jenny Wiley (G1).
Mawj (IRE) (Three-Year-Old Filly/Female Turf Horse), winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) Presented by Dixiana.
Meanwhile, these finalists for Eclipse Awards as outstanding horsemen are active at Keeneland:
Owner: Godolphin, Juddmonte, Klaravich Stables
Breeder: Calumet Farm, Godolphin, Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione, Irad Ortiz Jr., Flavien Prat
Trainer: Chad Brown, Brad Cox, Bill Mott
Since its first race meet more than 85 years ago, the Keeneland Association has devoted itself to the health and vibrancy of the Thoroughbred industry. The world’s largest Thoroughbred auction house, Keeneland conducts five sales a year, in January, April, September and November. Graduates of Keeneland sales dominate racing across the globe at every level. In April and October, Keeneland offers some of the highest caliber and richest Thoroughbred racing in the world. Keeneland hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 2015, 2020 and 2022. Uniquely structured, Keeneland is a privately held company with a not-for-profit mission that returns its earnings to the industry and the community in the form of higher purses and millions of dollars donated in support of horse industry initiatives and charitable contributions for education, research, and health and human services throughout Central Kentucky. Keeneland also maintains the Keeneland Library, a world-renowned public research institution with the mission of preserving information about the Thoroughbred industry. To learn more, visit Keeneland.com.
For more information contact
Amy Gregory at 859 361-3490
Amy Owens at 859 421-2566